Wiz Saves The Day!

The Wiz, my new favourite player, scored two goals and added an assist as the Habs closed off 2010 with a big overtime win in Sunrise, Florida, and thus ends a roadtrip I don’t ever want to talk about again.

I didn’t see the winning goal. Did you? Some kind of glitch somewhere that left me scratching my head as the game never resumed after the third period. But I know the Wiz whizzed one, the Canadiens eked one out, and now I can drink beer without things weighing heavily on my mind.

Great way to end the year. Alex Auld was in goal for a change, and although he makes me nervous, the job got done and the two points were gained.

Random Notes:

Montreals first two goals, from Wiz and Brian Gionta, were scored on the power play.

Not only did I not see the winning goal in overtime, but my wife accidently deleted the Canada -Sweden junior game so I didn’t get to see that either.

Shots on goal were an amazing 48-22 Habs.

Next up – Sunday, when Atlanta pays a visit to the Bell Centre.

And one last random note – late in the third period with the score tied at two, Montreal came close but Panthers goalie Tomas Vokoun foiled them. Scott Gomez then skated by and tapped Vokoun on the pads as if to say “good stop.”

I hate this buddy-buddy stuff. At that stage, Gomez should have been mightily pissed off that they didn’t score, and as he skated by the goalie Gomez should have said that he was bullshit lucky and his bullshit luck was coming to an end quickly and be careful because an errant stick might poke you between the legs.

Save the Woodstock stuff for summer, Gomez. They’re the enemy and your team is mired in a horrendous slump. Forget the “I’m a great guy” shit.

Dennis, looks like RDS screwed up somewhere. They did show the last two minutes of overtime, after they showed the three stars. Nice goal, Wiz looks to be an awesome player. Great shot, great passes. He’s likely their number one D-man easily. Auld played pretty solid especially when it counted. Habs played pretty solid as well. This is a great confidence booster. 2011 should be interesting. I, for one, am glad Lapierre is gone. A minor leaguer and a 5th round? for our second rounder? Lapierre is a fourth liner and not a bonafide second rounder so don’t feel like we got ripped off. He will likely do better other than our defensive system in Mtl.

Mayo, for the longest time I thought I did something wrong to lose the overtime feed. That’s not goo, especially in overtime, and I hope RDS doesn’t do this again. And Lapierre? Too inconsistent. He has some tools but seldom used them.

Tyg, I absolutely hate that nice guy thing. And I remember once when Mike Ribiero, when he was with the Habs, asked Sidney Crosby if he could have his stick after the game, and this was when the game was far from over and either team could have won. I hated that too.

A good move by PG in getting Wiz. We now have 2 D guys that can generate offense in PK and Wiz. I think once he settles into the team his defensive play will be better too. It looks like Wiz is playing with confidence like he deserves to be on the team, and after tonight, he certainly does.

You know what’s funny? I imagined Wiz scoring a big goal in his first few games with the Habs. Just you know, something that crossed my mind a little while back. But I laughed it off, thinking that this guy hasn’t scored enough and how many guys score a big goal so soon after changing teams? I need to imagine more good things.

That’s good imagining, Habby. Keep it up. Imagine he becomes a star, and PK too. Imagine we get a great winger and we win the Cup. Keep imagining. Maybe you’ve got something there. Some kind of mind control power.

Devil’s advocate: Wiz showed us what we are sorely missing: consistency, scoring, passion; defense; passing; offense; smart decision making. He stood by far of all the D by doing these things. I get pissed off every time Hammer touches the puck; surprised when one of the other don’t screw up. When Wiz touches the puck, it’s either a smart play or a beautiful pass up the middle on the tape. We haven’t seen this from this D for a month. I know PK, Weber amd Picard are capable; they just need serious seasoning. I am prejudiced against Hammer because he is a $5 M guy and playing like a $2 M guy. A stupid signing. Spacek is ok but his age is showing. Wiz makes the other guys look bad. I like Gill for all his faults. We sure do miss Jash though. He leaves a bigger hole than I thought. I look forward to the next few months people. We are a centreman away from a deep run in the playoffs.

Wiz could almost wear an A on his jersey, because he defiantely leads by example and the young guys like PK, Weber and Picard could definately take note from him making smart decisions etc like you said.

We need one more forward that generates offense and we’d arguably be a complete team. Someone like Martin St Louis, who has wheels and an offensive mind, can make a play and also score goals, and his style would definately fit in with the types of forwards in this team.

Imagine if we had Markov in the lineup as well as Wiz, wouldnt life be good.

Harrow, more than any other defenceman, I think PK will learn his craft from Wiz. Hammer’s too slow to learn from, as is Spacek, and Gorges and Gill aren’t offensive-minded. I’m much more excited about getting Wiz than I was when we got all the smurfs in the offseason two years ago. Wiz is exactly what we need, especially with Markov out. This is one deal I wouldn’t hesitate to congratulate Gauthier over. Hell, I’ll even buy him a beer.

Mayo, I like Gill a lot. He just gets the puck out without any fancy stuff, he moves people from the net, and he’s really great in the dressing room. Apparently he never stops talking and keeps the boys laughing. A guy like this is priceless. And Wiz? What an upgrade from Picard for example.